Every Dan Stevens Horror Movie (So Far), Ranked According To IMDb
British actor Dan Stevens has come a long way since his break-out role as Matthew Crawley in Downton Abbey. From starring in FX's cerebral superhero series Legion to flexing his muscles in any number of feature-length films, Stevens brings a charming intensity to all of his performances.
Stevens is no stranger to horror movies, and much of his best acting is found in creepy features bearing his name. Whether it's a classic scary story like The Turn of the Screw or more modern, experimental flicks like Adam Wingard's The Guest, Stevens turns from enchanting to sinister with the flick of a switch.
7 Lucy In The Sky (2019) - 4.9
This feature-film from Noah Hawley, known for his work on the TV series Fargo and Legion, is loosely based on the story of real-life astronaut Lisa Nowak, who made headlines when she experienced a mental breakdown in the wake of her first mission to space. Natalie Portman stars as Lucy Cola, whose character's path mirrors Nowak's as she suffers from hallucinations, disassociation from her loved ones, and paranoid thoughts after returning from a NASA mission.
Stevens plays Cola's husband, Drew, who watches on in horror as his wife descends into madness. Lucy in the Sky melds psychological terror with scientific exploration, but its inconsistent and confusing plot caused it to bomb in theatres critically and financially. Jon Hamm, Zazie Beetz, and Ellen Burstyn co-star.
6 Vamps (2012) - 5.2
Vampires receive the Amy Heckerling effect in Vamps, which stars Alicia Silverstone and Krysten Ritter as bloodsucking it-girls living in modern-day New York City. The Clueless and Fast Times at Ridgemont High director follows her trendy lady vampires around the city, where they abstain from feeding on humans by feasting upon the city's vast rat population. Dan Stevens plays a college student who begins dating Ritter's character Stacy.
Unfortunately, Stevens's character Joey is a Van Helsing - a descendant of the infamous vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing. Ultimately, Vamps doesn't take itself seriously at all; critics didn't take it seriously either.
5 Dracula (2006) - 5.2
One of many adaptations of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, 2006's Dracula is a made-for-TV British feature that turns one of the book's minor characters into a major player. Stevens portrays this character, Lord Arthur Holmwood, who aids Count Dracula's journey to England for personal gains. It turns out Lord Holmwood has been diagnosed with syphilis, and he hopes the ancient vampire will cure him before Holmwood marries his fiancee Lucy Westenra.
Once Dracula arrives in London, the bloodsucker goes to town on all the beautiful women around him. Realizing his grave miscalculation, Holmwood recruits his colleague and friend Jonathan Harker to defeat Count Dracula before he infects everyone in town with his ancient curse.
4 The Turn Of The Screw (2009) - 5.5
Another television movie, The Turn of the Screw is based on Henry James' gothic horror novella of the same name. Mostly recently reworked in The Haunting of Bly Manor, James' book tells the story of a young woman hired to care for two orphan siblings who live in a large mansion on a creepy, pastoral estate. Told through flashbacks, the film stars Michelle Dockery as Ann, the new governess tasked with looking over the young Miles and his little sister Flora.
It turns out the expansive home houses quite a few supernatural secrets and ghosts, specters that literally drive Ann insane. Stevens co-stars as Dr. Fisher, the psychiatrist Ann shares her story with after she is forced into a sanitorium.
3 The Rental (2020) - 5.7
Actor Dave Franco went behind the camera to direct The Rental, a paranoid slasher movie centered around two couples who rent a seaside home from Airbnb for the weekend. Dan Stevens stars alongside Alison Brie, Shelia Vand, and Jeremy Allen White as the four vacationers. After having an unsettling experience with the home's caretaker, the group becomes convinced they are being watched.
Their dysfunctional characters soon turn on each other, especially when a secret threatens to destroy their dynamic. Nothing is what it seems in Franco's film, though, and The Rental takes a shocking, yet memorable, turn in its final act.
2 Apostle (2018) - 6.3
Netflix commissioned and released this period horror drama set in 1905 Britain. Stevens plays Thomas Richardson, a man who travels to a remote Welsh island in search of his sister Jennifer - who has been kidnapped and held ransom by a religious cult. Richardson pretends to be a convert to the group, which was started by three former convicts who possess a serious bloodlust. As Richardson sleuths behind-the-scenes to figure out what's happened to Jennifer, he comes to realize the cult is much more dangerous than he anticipated.
What starts off as a slow, methodical feature turns into a gory nightmare as Apostle progresses. The film's insane action is anchored around Stevens' crazed–yet determined–performance.
1 The Guest (2014) - 6.7
The Guest is a singular horror movie from Adam Wingard, known for other indie genre gems like You're Next. Set within the context of the looming war in Afghanistan, Stevens plays a mysterious veteran who visits the family of a fallen soldier Stevens' character David claims to have fought alongside. David's backstory and demeanor make the family's daughter, played by Maika Monroe, suspicious of his true intentions with her family.
Wingard indulges his viewers with an atmospheric soundtrack as The Guest's plot reaches its climax at the local high school's annual Halloween party. Few films explore the horrors of war while maintaining a stylish edge that leans into sci-fi territory.